Will TV’s ‘Millennium’ Become a Movie?

Roland Emmerich is getting a lot of attention right now for his upcoming end-of-the-world-blow-absolutely-everything-up movie 2012.  I’ll admit it, I’m a fan of Emmerich’s work, especially the ones in which he gives us unprecedented levels of destruction. Honestly, 2012 makes The Day After Tomorrow look like a warm up.

However, there was a television show that prophesied about the end of the world long before Emmerich planned the wanton destruction in 2012.  The show was Millennium, created by The X-Files visionary Chris Carter. The show followed Frank Black (Lance Henrikson) as an ex- FBI agent with the ability to see into the minds of killers and track them down.

All this while dealing with the enigmatic Millennium group who tried to prevent the world from coming to an apocalyptic end in the year 2000 (hence the name). The show was pretty dark for its time but brilliant all the same. So brilliant it was inevitably canceled. Such is the life of thought-provoking television (e.g. Dead Like Me, Firefly).

In fact, Millennium may take the record for biggest cancellation upset ever as Fox pulled the plug in 1999. Yes, the network couldn’t even bring it back to conclude its own prophetic doomsday plot. While Carter tried to finish Black’s story in a subsequent X-Files episode, appropriately titled “Millennium”, the cross-over fell flat. The episode was a complete disservice to the series but hopefully Fox is looking to make up for that mistake.

Screen Rant is reporting that Henrikson has been approached by private investors to make a Millennium movie.  Moreover, Fox is apparently interested in doing something with the property.  This prospect may or may not include Chris Carter.

One man that wants to be involved, however, is director Brett A. Hart.  Having worked with Henrikson before, Hart expressed nothing short of true passion for the project:

“As a tremendous admirer of “The Millennium Series” I’m of course very intrigued by the recent rumors that there may indeed be a full length feature on the horizon. If any one can get “Millennium” made its Lance and it’s been a long time coming. It’s time to give the fans what they’ve been patiently waiting to see… More insight into the aberrant world of Frank Black… while further elevating and merging storylines, characterization and visuals… and finally closure for one of the finest series ever created. Let’s hope as the title sequence suggest “The Time is near”… and As I’ve already publicly stated… my passion and conviction for the series is so deep that I’d direct “Millennium – The Movie” for free just to see it on the big screen.”

Wow! Private investors and a director willing to work for free? Come on Fox, how can you possibly pass this opportunity up?

As great as the series was in the Nineties I think it was ahead of its time. With the horror/thriller genre having come back into the mainstream Millennium would work very well today.  t has all the elements audiences are looking for and if done well could be franchise material (if the Saw movies are any indication anyway).

One interesting point to make is how a Millennium movie couldn’t pursue the year 2000 doomsday scenario I mentioned above (y2K having come and gone with little catastrophe after all). However, while so many films bring us the obvious end of days events (see 2012), Millennium could be the vehicle to explore what happens when those prophecies don’t come true. Who better to walk among those who expected to die, but didn’t, than Frank Black? This would be a great psychological distinction from other films of this kind that only Millennium could embrace.